(1855 )THE LAST RIDE TOGETHER

I SAID—Then, dearest, since ’tis so,Since now at length my fate I know,Since nothing all my love avails,Since all, my life seem’d meant for, fails,  Since this was written and needs must be—My whole heart rises up to blessYour name in pride and thankfulness!Take back the hope you gave,—I claimOnly a memory of the same,—And this beside, if you will not blame;        Your leave for one more last ride with me .

My mistress bent that brow of hers,

Those deep dark eyes where pride demurs

When pity would be softening through,

Fix’d me a breathing-while or two

  With life or death in the balance: right!

The blood replenish’d me again;

My last thought was at least not vain:

I and my mistress, side by side

Shall be together, breathe and ride,

So, one day more am I deified.

  Who knows but the world may end to-night?

 

Then we began to ride. My soul

Smooth’d itself out, a long-cramp’d scroll

Freshening and fluttering in the wind.

Past hopes already lay behind.

  What need to strive with a life awry?

Had I said that, had I done this,

So might I gain, so might I miss.

Might she have loved me? just as well

She might have hated, who can tell!

Where had I been now if the worst befell?

  And here we are riding, she and I.

Hush! if you saw some western cloud

All billowy-bosom’d, over-bow’d

By many benedictions—sun’s

And moon’s and evening-star’s at once—

  And so, you, looking and loving best,

Conscious grew, your passion drew

Cloud, sunset, moonrise, star-shine too,

Down on you, near and yet more near,

Till flesh must fade for heaven was here—!

Thus leant she and linger’d—joy and fear!

  Thus lay she a moment on my breast.

Fail I alone, in words and deeds?Why, all men strive and who succeeds?We rode; it seem’d my spirit flew,Saw other regions, cities new,

  As the world rush’d by on either side.I thought,—All labour, yet no lessBear up beneath their unsuccess.Look at the end of work, contrastThe petty done, the undone vast,This present of theirs with the hopeful past!

  I hoped she would love me; here we ride. 

What hand and brain went ever pair’d?

What heart alike conceived and dared?

What act proved all its thought had been?

What will but felt the fleshly screen?

  We ride and I see her bosom heave.

There’s many a crown for who can reach.

Ten lines, a statesman’s life in each!

The flag stuck on a heap of bones,

A soldier’s doing! what atones?

They scratch his name on the Abbey-stones.

  My riding is better, by their leave.

What does it all mean, poet? Well,Your brains beat into rhythm, you tell

What we felt only; you express’dYou hold things beautiful the best,

  And pace them in rhyme so, side by side.’Tis something, nay ’tis much: but then,

Have you yourself what’s best for men?Are you—poor, sick, old ere your time—

Nearer one whit your own sublimeThan we who never have turn’d a rhyme?

  Sing, riding’s a joy! For me, I ride. 

And you, great sculptor—so, you gaveA score of years to Art, her slave,

And that’s your Venus, whence we turnTo yonder girl that fords the burn!

  You acquiesce, and shall I repine?What, man of music, you grown gray

With notes and nothing else to say,Is this your sole praise from a friend,

‘Greatly his opera’s strains intend,Put in music we know how fashions end’!

  I gave my youth: but we ride, in fine.

Who knows what’s fit for us? Had fateProposed bliss here should sublimate

My being—had I sign’d the bond—Still one must lead some life beyond,

  Have a bliss to die with, dim-descried.This foot once planted on the goal,This glory-garland round my soul,Could I descry such? Try and test!

I sink back shuddering from the questEarth being so good, would heaven seem best?

  Now, heaven and she are beyond this ride.

And yet—she has not spoke so long!What if heaven be that, fair and strong

At life’s best, with our eyes upturn’dWhither life’s flower is first discern’d,

  We, fix’d so, ever should so abide?What if we still ride on, we two

With life for ever old yet new,Changed not in kind but in degree,

The instant made eternity—,And heaven just prove that I and she

  Ride, ride together, for ever ride?

Structure: The poem comprises of ten stanzas, each consisting of eleven lines each. The poem follows the rhyming pattern aabbcddeeec.

Poetical Devices:The poet has used a number of poetical devices in his poem “The Last Ride Together”, they are as follows:Rhetorical Questions: A Rhetorical question is one which answers itself. Some of the rhetorical in the poem are as follows,*What need to strive with a life awry?Here, the lover says there is no point in grieving over a life which has been a failure.* Might she loved me?The lover wants to say that the hope of getting her love has become a matter of the past.Metaphor: Metaphor is an implied simile.Example of metaphor in “The Last Ride Together” by Robert Browning is-“…My soul/ Smooth’d itself out, a long-cramp’d scrollFreshening and fluttering in the wind.”

Personification: It refers to human emotions in association with objects.“When pity would be softening though” is an example of personification in the poem, ‘The Last Ride Together.’

Enjambment:

Enjambment refers to the continuation of a sentence without a pause. Examples of enjambment in the poem are as follows,-

*Take back the hope you gave,- I claimOnly a memory of the same,*Hush! If you saw some western cloudAll billowy-bosom’d, over-bow’dBy many benedictions-sun’sAnd moon’s and evening star’s at once. Robert Browning’s poetry is regarded as the finest love poetry. His poems deal with the emotions of love. His philosophy of love is an important part of his philosophy of life.

Summary and Analysis of The Last Ride Together by Robert Browning

“The Last Ride Together” by Robert Browning is a monologue of a rejected lover exploring the end of a love affair. The title suggests the last ride that the lover has spent with his love. However, the poet wants to convey through the narrator that rather than feeling sad about the end, he should be happy for the love that he underwent and which remains in his memory.Form:

“The Last Ride Together” by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue. In a dramatic monologue, a single person not the poet; speaks out a speech that makes up the whole of the poem. The first-person speaker in the poem is the mouthpiece of the poet, Robert Browning but not the poet himself. This is evident from the phrases like I said, I know, my whole heart I claim, my mistress, my last thought, I miss, I alone, I hoped, I gave my youth and I sign’d.

Theme and Central Idea of ‘The Last Ride Together’ by Robert Browning

Robert Browning’s poetry is regarded as the finest love poetry. His poems deal with the emotions of love. His philosophy of love is an important part of his philosophy of life.The Last Ride Together” by Robert Browning begins with a lover getting finally rejected by his lady-love after he waited for her for a long time. As the lover is sincere in his love, he does not have any ill-will for his lady-love. On the contrary, he tells his beloved that the uncertainty is no longer present as he knows that he would not get her love. The speaker says, his beloved’s love was the most meaningful thing in his life and after he has lost her love, his life has lost all its meaning and significance. In fact, he feels proud that he had the opportunity to love her and enjoy her company for a long time. He is grateful towards her for the beautiful and blissful moments they had together. For this he asks God to bless her.The poem is full of romantic overtones. It describes the romantic feelings of the lover towards his lady love. Therefore, ‘The Last Ride Together’ can be aptly described as a love poem.

Browning is an optimistOrBrowning's Philosophy of Life (Optimism)

Browning is a very consistent thinker of optimistic philosophy of life. And as an optimist, he is a moralist and a religious teacher. His optimism is based on life's realities. Life is full of imperfection but in this very imperfection lies hope, according to Browning's philosophical views. His optimism "is founded on imperfections of man". In the famous lines of "Pippa Passes", he says:

"God is in his Heaven–

All is right with the world"!

Actually the philosophy of Browning is the philosophy of a man looking at the world with more than a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He holds a very distinct place among the writers of the Victorian Age. He is an uncompromising foe of "Scientific Materialism". He preaches God and universality as the central truth of his philosophy of life .

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